Charles Gayle Trio - Live at Glenn Miller Café

Dan Warburton, All Music Guide

Recorded, as have been many fine outings on the Ayler label, in Stockholm's most famous jazz club, the Glenn Miller Café, in February 2006, this set finds Charles Gayle playing a white plastic alto saxophone instead of his customary tenor (nor does he touch the house piano), on a selection of original compositions and standards in the company of bassist Gerald Benson and drummer Michael Wimberly.

Compared to the titanic blowouts for which Gayle is best known, Live at Glenn Miller Café is a relaxed set, but a mature and satisfying one, with echoes of bebop and gospel – the most successful cover version here being Albert Ayler's "Ghosts."

Wimberly and Benson are sensitive accompanists, providing strong but never overwhelming support, and Per Ruthström's live recording captures both the atmosphere and the enthusiastic reaction of the audience to perfection.